试述“中国古典文学读本丛书”缘起

On the Origin of the Chinese Classical Literature Reader Series

"中国古典文学读本丛书"是人民文学出版社编辑出版超过了六十年的一套古典文学丛书。这套丛书旨在把中国古典文学中的经典作家作品呈现给普通读者,为读者提供一个学习、品鉴古典文学的可靠版本。丛书创立于1958年,收录了品质优良的古代诗、词、散文、戏剧、小说等各体文学作品的选本或全本。20世纪五六十年代,丛书的作者大体可以分为三类,一是文学研究所的专家,二是人文社古典文学编辑室编辑,三是执教于高等院校的学者。他们辛勤而敬业的工作,为当代古典文学作品整理与选注奠定了最基本的规范,具有示范意义。他们将普及与提高较好地结合起来,为广大读者奉献了众多经典图书。这些经验至今仍有启示意义。

The Chinese Classical Literature Reader Series is a series of classical literature edited and published by the People’s Literature Publishing House more than 60 years ago,aimed at bringing Chinese classics to ordinary readers and providing them with reliable versions for studying and appreciating classical literature.Launched in 1958,the series contains the selected parts or unabridged versions of high-quality ancient literature in diverse styles,e.g.poetry,prose,essay,drama and novel.In the 1950 s and 1960 s,the authors of the series can be roughly divided into three categories:(1)experts from the literature research institute,(2)editors of the Classical Literature Editorial Office of the People’s Literature Publishing House,and(3)scholars who teach in institutions of higher learning.Their hard and dedicated work has developed the most basic norms and set good examples for the compilation and selection of contemporary classical literature.They combined popularization and improvement,and brought many classic books to readers.Today we can still draw inspiration from these experiences.